<p>Fit must include financial reality. It my not strike you as fair, it may be something you wish were not true but it is simply a fact. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is not always true and it is certainly not true of most of the colleges you have on your list as thumper pointed out. For example, my son’s stats were higher than yours (as an example his ACT was 35) and he was awarded no merit aid from Brandeis. We were not eligible for need-based aid, so I cannot speak to that. </p>
<p>I don’t know you well enough to say if you are being rude or immature but I will say that right now it looks like you are setting yourself up for a lot of heartbreak. It’s one thing to get into a school, it’s an entirely different matter to be able to afford to attend. </p>
<p>First thing you need to do is find out your families EFC and go from there. You have 15K a year from your family, find out what colleges are going to expect from your family.</p>
<p>DeskPotato-
I guess that means AU does not recalculate.
I was wondering whether to believe College *******'s reported “chances” or Naviance…now I know.</p>
<p>Edit: Hm, wonder why a website’s name showed up in “*******”–it’s not even a bad word.</p>
<p>If your parents did the pre-paid tuition plan, I think that covers only tuition and required fees, not room and board. So you need to find out from them what they can afford beyond what is in that pre-paid plan if you plan to live away from home.</p>
<p>I LOVE St. Mary’s personally and wish we were IS for it, however it is a very small, very isolated school. If you do not think it is a fit then do not apply. It does not appear to be a school one could get used to and deal with given its isolation.</p>
<p>American – My neice applied last year with the SAT optional. It was a pilot program & I don’t know if they are still offering it. Her family’s annual income is approx 45,000. She received grants and merit that were much more generous then expected. I wouldn’t cross it off the list.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think I am keeping American on my list. I like it a lot (except for dorms/facilities, but that’s ok). I really want to like St. Mary’s…it seems nice. Is there anything to do around there?
Also…
Does anyone know the approx. ranges for which you can get financial aid? Or is this completely different for each family, regardless of the income?</p>
<p>Naviance for my daughter’s school shows’s weighted GPA. The scattergrams are relative to your own school, no one else. You can toggle between ACT, SAT 1600, SAT 2400, and IB. Like Deskpotato said, the data is over a period of years, 4 for my DD’s school. Only use it as a guide, rather than the absolute final word.</p>
<p>While it’s ok to partially focus on whether you’ll get into a particular school, you may have a much larger concern…affording the school.</p>
<p>NO SCHOOL is a safety if you’re not sure that you’ll have all costs covered with ASSURED scholarships or grants, small student loans, and family funds. And you must like the school.</p>
<p>Even if you knew you could get into American, you have NO IDEA of how the costs would get covered. It sounds like your parents would pay for about 1/3 of the costs. I don’t think an ACT 30 is high enough to get a big enough scholarship that would cover much/most of the other costs. But, certainly try and see what happens.</p>
<p>American’s middle quartiles are…</p>
<p>ACT Composite: 27 - 31 </p>
<p>So, to be in the top 25%, you’d need at least an ACT 32.</p>
<p>To get a rough estimate of your EFC, estimate about 24% of your family income. this is rough…and of course will be higher with a good amount of assets/savings.</p>
<p>How much would your parents say that they have in uncovered by insurance medical expenses each year?</p>
<p>With your stats there are some schools that give merit. What all do you want in a school?</p>